Realm of Chaos
by Shy Shay
Summary: Ranma Saotome. The most stubborn being ever. Deceased. Until five minutes ago, when he forced himself back to life and gained a power on the same level as Kami-sama. Now Heaven and Hell have to deal with a third party run by Ranm Himself, capital H.
1. Prologue

**A/N: This was written while I was bored in the four month period between updating my other fics. I have two other chapters written, but those won't be published for a while. ...Well. If I'm on my own, they won't be published for a while. This fic is going to be full of crazy stuff, and it's hard to keep all of the characters IC. At least, relatively IC. If I had a Beta (hint hint hint) then it would probably go much faster, but I can't probmise anything. Well, I can, but I can't promise and be honest about it. That said, enjoy! I have another A/N at the bottem to explain some things.**

If I owned either Ranma 1/2 OR O!MG, then they would have been combined a long time ago. A long, long time ago.

Realm of Chaos, Chapter one - Ascension

It's amazing, isn't it?

The little things, I mean.

Just take one small thing, and you could completely change a day.

Change a day, and you can change a life.

Change a life, and you can change the world.

Change the world, and you can change all of creation.

Just think. All of that, because of one little thing.

Just one.

A tiny thing, really.

Such as... for example... a thought.

A stubborn thought in the worlds strongest martial artist.

Just one small thought that, in anybody else, at any other time, would have done nothing of any significance.

But this one thought... in this one person... at this one time... changed everything.

And that thought, as Ranma was considering what to do in regards to the Phoenix in China, all of his friends, foes and allies around him, was, '_I'm going to do this alone_'.

So here we are. The moment when everything changes.

Ranma against a fully realized Saffron, all on his own. No allies, no fiance's, no family. Just a mortal and a god.

And he was losing.

Badly.

Desperately, Ranma looked around. He never lost! But even the greatest martial artist in the world had to admit that he was at a disadvantage. Not only was he barely on his feet, facing a magical sword and facing an entire empire on his own, but his ki... it ran dry a while ago.

In a fight with fighters on the caliber of Ranma and Saffron, time is a rather subjective thing. Just one bad moment and the fight is over, and yet it is rare for one fighter to not last over ten minutes.

In regards to Ranma's ki, he was out five minutes ago.

The fight started twenty minutes ago.

Ranma's brain was working as fast as it could, trying to find something, anything to get an edge, even as he dodged another hit from Saffron's sword.

_'Okay,' _he thought, _'Let's go though this again. Sources of power include; myself, Saffron, his weapon, and the world at large.'_

_'I'm tapped dry. I could probably draw from my emotions if I had something to work me up... turn my will into power... but there's nothing here. Well, besides my emanate death, but that's nothing new.'_

_'I've already done the Hiryu Shoten Ha, and that backfired. Not to mention I can't drain chi, so Saffron's out.'_

_'I'm not getting anywhere near that freaky flaming sword.'_

_'The world... in order to accept ambient chi, I need some kind of... chi matrix... something to let me flow in and out of everything. But even I'd need a good month to just get started on that!'_

_'Come on... what's left... THINK, Saotome!'_

But he had nothing. The great Ranma Saotome, heir to the Anything Goes style of martial arts, had nothing. He could learn a technique in a moment, make a better one in less, and he had nothing.

_'There most be something! Something deeper then all of this! Something that I can draw on! Something below the world! Something there! Something! I need energy! I need power! I need to win!'_

But he still had nothing. The most talented, most determined, most honorable martial artist in a thousand thousand years, had nothing.

_'There's something there! There has to be! I've been surrounded by power all my life! WHERE IS IT?'_

Ranma dodged another attack that would melt a tank. He blocked a attack that could crack diamond. He managed to dodge time and time again... but even he knew that time was running out.

_'What makes the world go round? Why do we fall? Why do we live? How do we live? What makes life life!'_

And then Ranma, with strange circumstances and stranger thoughts, managed to make a breakthrough.

_'My life... Akane's life... Shampoo's life... Ukyo's life... Ryoga's life... even Saffron's life... why is life life? It's all so chaotic! All running around! No time to sit and THINK! Something new every moment! It's almost not possible! Like something is making it happen! But that's impossible... right?'_

It is now when Ranma's true talent showed. Every once in a thousand generations there is a person capable of Understanding. And every once in a million generations there is a person in a position to achieve Understanding. It has happened only twice, in all of species, in all of time, and in all of dimensions, only twice before has it happened. Even with millions of chances, only two have achieved Understanding. And now, yet again, a chance has been set.

_'Chaotic energy... it's there... it's always been there! When I arrived with Pop's to Japan, it was there. When Shampoo came, it was there. When Ukyo came, it was there. When Ryoga came, it was there. When Moosse came, it was there. When Cologne came, it was there. When Happosai came, it was there. When every single person, every single event in my life came... it was there. Just a trickle... but it was there.'_

Ranma's life was on the clock. It has now been seven minutes since he ran out of ki, and fate has decreed that his skill and luck will run out at ten. When the timer hits ten, he will die. The sword will slash his body diagonally, cooking his guts even as they spill out. His eyes, widened in surprise, will carry the dim of death. The greatest martial artist... is going to die.

But still, he fought on. He knew he was going to die. He wasn't a fool. He knew that the most he had ever lasted without ki in a fight like this was nine minutes. His time was short.

And so his mind raced.

Ranma Saotome is, if nothing else, a genius at energy, the ebb and flow of the world. He knows instinctively just how much force to put into a kick to make Kuno get just out of range of the 'able to get back to school' circle. He knows just how strong Akane's mallet is, and how much he has to resist to get to a location he desires.

And now, he has three minutes to decipher, replicate, and master that tiny trickle of energy he has barely felt since he was born. It's there. He knows it. All he has to do is master it.

But what hope does a mortal have, even a genius mortal, at deciphering something like that in just three minutes? It hasn't been done, and according to the base code of the universe, it can't be done.

Part of Ranma, deep down, knew this. It knew all of this. At this time, everybody else would have deemed such a thing 'impossible' and let it go. But not this one. Deep down, he also knew, he was going to die. And deep down, he knew he didn't want to die. Deep down... he never gave up. Not for a moment. He always fought on. And so, with three minutes left, a foolish mortal tries to defy everything the world is made of for no other reason then he won't give up.

Truly a foolish mortal.

_'It's there... that strange... swirling energy... begging for real ease, but always held back. I can see it... I can feel it... THERE!'_

Ranma saw it, a small trickle of the energy right behind Saffron. It was small, tiny, and totally unnoticeable... but Ranma saw it. Maybe it was because he was the best. Maybe it was because he refused to die. Maybe he was delusional and got lucky. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that he saw it.

Eight minutes on the clock. Only two are left. Yggdrasil, the world computer, prepared to accept another soul into the ranks of the dead.

_'Run... run... dodge... jump... feint... run... got it! There! Right above it! Now... it's flowing... it's swirling... it's still... it's fast... it's square... it's round... oops, gotta dodge.'_

Nine minutes on the clock. One minute left. The mortal Ranma Saotome is going to die. His soul would be recycled, and he would be no more.

_'Gah! It's changing too fast! I can't copy it! I need to... feel it... let my senses open... dodge duck don't die... there... it's there... I can feel it...'_

Nine minutes, thirty seconds. The profile of one Saotome, Ranma was finalized, a printed copy made for storage.

_'It's there... duck dodge... feel it... let it in... don't copy, feel...'_

Nine minutes, forty five seconds. The copy was looked over by Kami-sama and stamped with his approval.

_'Wait... a crack... a crack in the world... dodge jump dodge... and through that crack...'_

Nine minutes, fifty seconds. The final drawer was opened.

_'I see... I see it now...'_

Nine minutes, fifty one seconds. The folders were sorted alphabetically, and it was tough going finding the 'S, R' segment.

_'So that's it...'_

Nine minutes, fifty two seconds. The S's were found... now the R subsection...

_'It makes sense now...'_

Nine minutes, fifty three seconds. The folder was rather thick, hard to find just were to place the file.

_'There it is...'_

Nine minutes, fifty four seconds. The goddess chattered a bit, making her lose her place.

'_I understand now.'_

Nine minutes, fifty five seconds. With just a moment of looking, the goddess found her place again.

_'Chaos...'_

Nine minutes, fifty six seconds. The goddess chanced a look at the picture, and liked what she saw. Immensely.

_'Love...'_

Nine minutes, fifty seven seconds. Hmmm, maybe this 'Ranma' would be up for the god pogrom...

_'Hate...'_

Nine minutes, fifty eight seconds. Nah, that's too risky. She better put it away.

_'Everything...'_

Nine minutes, fifty nine seconds. There it is. Just open the place, aim the paper...

_'I see it...'_

So lost in his trance like state, Ranma didn't notice Saffron aim his sword. And as the paper landed, at ten minutes after losing the last of his ki, thirty minutes after picking a fight with a god, Ranma Saotome died. He was slashed diagonally across the torso, and his guts were cooking even as they fell out. His eyes were widened in surprise.

Ranma's soul started floating up and away.

_'What...?'_

His body and Saffron where getting rather tiny.

_'I... died...?'_

He could see all of China now.

_'But... I don't want to die...'_

He could new see the globe, floating in space.

_'I... I'm not done yet...'_

The Earth was now a speck of dust in his vision, so far away.

_'I... I never...'_

He could here the songs of Heaven, calling him to surrender.

_'I never had a good laugh...'_

The sounds were so tempting... so inviting... just come here, it said. Come to us, and sleep forever.

_'But... I never laughed...'_

The sounds were getting louder... maybe he should just give up. Just let it all wash away.

_'But I never laughed.'_

Is that really an issue? Just relax, and rest, and come into Heaven's arms, child. Sleep.

_'But I never fucking laughed!'_

The sounds were deafening now, his will had to fight his spirit to stay together.

_'No! I'm not done! I never played a prank! I never taught anyone! I never got a real kiss!'_

The songs of heaven were surrounding his being, and Ranma knew he couldn't last.

_'No! I refuse! I will get back!'_

His soul, his very essence, was being ripped at the seams.

_'There must be a way! Something here that's there! Something that I can follow!'_

The songs, ever changing, kept on attacking, refusing to let him go.

_'Chaos!'_

He felt himself being torn to shreds.

_'I see the line!'_

The song was almost done.

_'Just... need to... grab it...'_

And, when the song finished, Ranma's soul was nowhere to be seen.

It was careening at high speeds back to China, Earth.

_'YEEEEEEEEEEEEEHA!'_

But Chaos is a fickle thing, and one can only grasp it's patterns and it's essence for so long. Eventually, it will always slip out of your grasp.

_'Huh...?'_

Ranms was slowing down.

_'I... couldn't hold it?'_

He started drifting back to Heaven.

_'Where is it? It's gotta be somewhere!'_

The song of Heaven picked back up.

_'WHERE IS IT?'_

Calm down, child. It's okay. Rest. Relax.

_'I see it!'_

There is no need to fight.

_'WHY CAN'T I GRAB IT?'_

There is no need to struggle.

_'No...'_

We will take care of your soul.

_'I can't grab Chaos...'_

It's okay.

_'I was almost there...'_

Losing against death is nothing shameful.

_'...what?'_

You tried your best, better then most gods, even, but the end was inevitable.

_'…'_

So just rest. It's okay. It'll be fine.

_'...Sorry.'_

It's fine to struggle. It's fine to fight. But know it'll be easier to just rest.

_'You're wrong.'_

I'm sorry, what did you say?

_'I said you're wrong.'_

Wrong about what?

_'I'm Ranma Saotome. And I never lose!'_

Ranma grabbed the strange line of chaos, not caring what it was, or how it formed, but understanding it. He has lived in Chaos for all of his life, and he now understood his constant companion.

_'I see it now.'_

He was careening away from the dangerously beautiful melody in the sky.

_'Chaos...'_

He could see the earth.

_'Love...'_

He could see China.

_'Hate...'_

He could see his body.

_'Is life!'_

And so, thirty minutes into his fight, ten minutes after running out of ki, Ranma Saotome... didn't die.

And it was then that his real troubles began.

You see, the world, in all of it's advance and endless time, has had similar occurrences happen before. A soul who doesn't want to die refusing to go. It's actually pretty common. It happens about three times every year. But Saotome, for whatever reason, he didn't just stay... he stopped his own death.

And so, in the world computer Yggdrasil, a bug was born. And that bug represented Ranma's life. If that bug dies, Ranma dies. For real. He will not return a second time.

Now a bug such as this represented something impossible, so impossible that it was trying to rewrite the world computer just for the right to exist. And, as such, to get to that end, it started multiplying.

From one to two.

From two to four.

From four to eight.

To sixteen.

To thirty two.

To sixty four.

One hundred twenty eight. Two hundred fifty six. Five hundred twelve.

Up in the world computer, as Ranma was getting a second breath of life, an alarm sounded.

-ATTENTION ALL PERSONEL. THE WORLD COMPUTER IS IN DANGER. A MASSIVE INFLUX OF BUGS ARE THREATENING TO REWRITE REALITY. ALL PERSONEL TO THE MOTHERBOARD. REPEAT. ALL PERSONEL TO THE MOTHERBOARD.-

Back on Earth, Ranma had just dodged a strike that was impossible to dodge. He raised up a hand, and blast of pure chaos energy pushed the phoenix god back. Ranma slowly rose, a grin on his face, his face stained by his streaks of tears.

"I see it now, Saffron..."

Skuld and Urd rushed towards the Motherboard.

"What did you do this time, Urd?"

"Me? Aren't you the mech genius here?"

"Aren't you the system manager?"

The two settled for glaring at each other as they ran down the hallway.

Saffron was suddenly on guard. Whatever that energy blast was, it wasn't normal, not ki or mana. What was it?

"I see you, Saffron. I see the grass. I see the base code of the universe."

Saffron scoffed at that. Only Kami-sama could see the base code of the universe. Hild could sense it out. To think that this... _mortal _dare state that he could see the base code? Preposterous.

"Saffron: God class 1, unlimited. Currently on an ongoing contract for the being Kiima. Wish: To be part of a worthy empire for all time. Date of projected death: Never."

Saffron started. No... that's just a... lucky guess. Right?

Urd and Skuld finally managed to get to the motherboard.

Skuld started. "Holy..."

Urd finished. "Shit..."

In front of them was so many bugs it was practically impossible to see the ground. They were swarming, and even more where growing! Never have either of them seen something like this!

"Skuld bomb!"

"Urd strike!"

Suddenly, Ranma laughed. That caught Saffron off guard.

"Bwahahaha! It's hilarious! Don't you see it? No, wait, of course you don't. You're just a first class."

Now Saffron was angry. A first class god was the best thing this mortal was ever going to see, and he was INSULTING him?

With the last of his chuckles fading, Ranma grinned and Saffron, and gestured with his hands in a 'come and get it' motion. "Common' Saffron. Let's dance."

Mara was surprised when she was instructed by Hild-sama to help with the bugs in the world computer. She was even more surprised with the sheer amount of bugs there. But what really surprised here was the full battalion of Angles and Demons already fighting the hoard. That had to be all of Heaven and Hell!

"Mara!" A familiar voice from her childhood shouted. "Bout' time you got here! Come on, we gotta beat this thing back!"

"Wha... Urd? What's going on here?"

"How am I supposed to know? All I know for sure is we have to beat this thing back, and NOW! The whole of everything is in danger!"

It was then, after the latest wave of explosions and powers that lit up the motherboard, was exposed a rather large hill of bugs... that was in the shape... of a middle finger. Several middle fingers. About a hundred of them.

Now, normally, it is rather hard to annoy gods and goddess. A hundred middle fingers would do it, though. Demon's are just naturally angry.

And so the hoard charged, and the bugs ran.

Ranma grinned as Saffron striked. He could see it. All possibilities. All chances. Put his head there... a miss. Jump now... a miss. And he started a spiral, into a Hiryo Shoten Ha.

He knew, somehow, that right now, Saffron wasn't his only opponent. And he knew that if he faltered for even a step, he was done for. He wouldn't survive.

A dodge. A duck. A leap. He must not get hit! He had to remain in this spiral! If he didn't, he would die. No second chances. No running. Only this one chance. And he knew it was slim.

As Ranma and the bugs fought for the same cause, they seemed too... overlap. Ranma would catch glimpses of the hoards of Heaven and Hell, and Saffron would catch glimpses of millions of bugs.

A dodge here. A jump there. Regenerate there. Relocate some bugs there. Sidestep. Regrow. Lean back. Duplicate. Step. Step. Step.

The possibilities, the chances to dodge, where growing less and less. But Ranma's impossible skill, and the bugs countless numbers, fought and overcame it all. The ultimate force was doing it's best, but even it could not stand up against Ranma's will. Until, finally, Ranma and the bugs where in the center of the spiral, and Ranma shouted the name of his attack, and it echoed throughout all of creation.

"Hiryo Shoten Ha revised: Chaos Dragon Strike!" Ranma and the bugs moved as one, and a fist impacted creation. A whirlwind, powered by the Gods and Demons, whirled throughout all of creation. A violent combination of mana and chaos roared.

It was the most beautiful sight any of them had ever seen.

The mana made physical due to the interaction with the Chaos showed all the feelings of those it came from, showed the feelings those who used it. It was happiness, and love, and hatred, and sadness, and ecstasy, and everything in between.

The Chaos showed colors that have never been seen before, and never will be seen again. Colors that don't have names, colors that can't have names. They flashed, and some of them were even shining with blackness, showing a bright black.

The two impossible energies coalesced and spiraled up, ending in a giant ferocious dragon head. The dragon head started heading down the tube of the inter-dimensional whirlwind, ending at the bottom. The tail end came up and the dragon formed a spinning sphere of energy that was expanding.

And it expanded and expanded until it covered all of creation, reprogramming the base code.

-NEW PROGRAM ACCEPTED. EXECUTING. FOURTH WORLD BEING CREATED. RANMA SAOTOME UPGRADED TO ALL-POWERFULL. PLEASE HAVE A NICE DAY.-

All the bugs were destroyed.

Saffron died the final death, and in his place was a star-shaped seed.

Every god and demon that was not Hild, Kami-sama, and Ranma were knocked out.

Ranma looked around at this new world with new eyes and said, "Huh. That was cool, but what the heck just happened?"

**A/N: Okay, a few things, to avoid some flames about how Ranma said he hasn't really laughed. First off, I am aware that he has laughed before. At least, I'm pretty sure he has. It's been a while since I read the manga, so I'm not sure, but he has almost defenatly laughed. Just not for himself.**

**He's laughed mockingly, kiddingly, out of fear, but not because of relief, or happyness, or because someone was tickling him. That said, NO RANMA IS NOT ANGSTY EMO. It's cannon that he is not. He can't use depression chi! One of my pet peeves is angsty Ranma. It's not who he is! Sad Ranma, smart Ranma, complecated Ranma, fine. But no angsty Ranma. And no humble Ranma! ...sorry. Just my pet peeves. ...well. My giant peeves that threaten to destroy me because I fed them too much, but still.**

**One last thing: Chi and Ki... I don't know the diffrence, and I don't see a reason to care. Unless somebody gives me a good reason to care, I will be using them more or less interchangably. If this bugs you, I humbly apologize.**


	2. Beginnings

**A/N: ^^ I'm glad that everybody enjoyed the last chapter. I was going for a 'OMFG WTF JUST HAPPENED!1!' kind of feel. As a side note, if anybody could overcome death, it's Ranma. Why? Because he's awesome, duh.**

**In regards to Chi and Ki... I got so many diffrent reports that I'm just gonna let it stand. If it feels right then it feels right, and if it doesn't then it's wrong somehow. I'll figure it out.**

**That said, I feel like I should warn you all that Ranma has changed. He's not the same anymore. I tried to keep his 'core' alive, but... well, more detailed information is at the bottom if you _must _know. Read, enjoy and review!**

...Really. Do I look like... er... does it seem like I own Ranma 1/2 or OMG? Really? What part of _fan_fiction do you not understand? Bah. Crazy people.

Realm of Chaos, Chapter Two - Beginnings

There is a room.

The room is white, with a white table, white chairs, and a white door. No walls.

Where the room is, nobody really knows.

Only three people in all of existence know how to get to this room.

Those three people are currently around the white table, in their white chairs.

Kami-sama, Hild, and Ranma Saotome.

Kami-sama, the almighty, the ruler of heaven is a tall Caucasian male, athletic and with black hair that reaches his mid back. He has strange tattoos and markings all over his body that only those present can discern their true purpose, with his clothing only covering the essentials.

Hild, the Daimakaicho, the ruler of hell, is a tall attractive woman. Her skin is a tanned bronze, large breasts and a rather... revealing, attractive and ornate dark red and dark purple dress. Long white hair made up in a very elaborate fashion finishes the ensemble.

Ranma Saotome, while not as tall as The Almighty, is still tall in his own right, and twice as muscular. Surprisingly smooth skin for one that looks so strong makes him rather attractive to those attracted to males of the humanoid persuasion. A simple red silk shirt with black silk pants, both Chinese in origin, and black hair with a pigtail that ends at the armpits finish the martial artist's usual attire.

Ranma only recently managed to learn how to come to this room, when he became a deity of the same level as the King of Heaven and the Queen of Hell.

They have been discussing for some time, but what they have been saying isn't important. What is important is where the conversation goes after Ranma's next line.

"So... I'm a god now?"

Hild nodded. "Essentially. To be more precise, you're an All-Powerful."

"Right... that's us three, right? Those that... um... achieve Understanding?"

Kami-sama took over. "That is is correct."

Ranma pursed his lips, thinking. "And this... world computer keeps the world... um... the world?"

The Almighty nodded. "Yes."

Ranma hmmmed. "And it's basically a play ground for us three?"

Kami-sama sweat dropped. "Well... not exactly..."

Hild continued where the king of heaven left off. "It's where we gain contracts for our domains."

"Right, right. And what are the purpose of those contracts again?"

"To keep balance of the world, of course!" Kami-sama reply's, as if it's the most obvious thing in existence.

"...And why keep the world existing?"

Hild took on a malicious grin at this. "Because it's boring as heaven otherwise."

Ranma grinned right back. "Praise be to fun."

"Praise be to fun!"

Kami-sama sighed as Hild and Ranma started laughing. He just got _another_ Hild. Why did His world hate Him so? "Anyway, Ranma, back to the matter at hand."

"Oh, right, that." Ranma pursed his lips again, thinking. "So... I get a domain that I can design to my wishes?"

"Ooooh, choose fire and brimstone!" Hild grinned like a child in a candy store. "Or, or maybe the eternal screams of the damned! How about an abomination from the beyond in the background?"

Ranma tactically ignored Hild's suggestions, though it was more that he didn't care then any actual forethought on his part. "And I need to start making babies to get some... um... minions?"

Kami-sama nodded, though Hild pouted as Ranma ignoring her. "Yes, that is correct. Essentially. Kinda. They work for you and are in your domain."

Ranma paused, thinking. Then he grinned. "Hey, I got an idea!"

The Almighty was instantly on edge. All of time to hone your senses into a sharp edge lets you know when something is about to go instantly wrong. Hild felt the same feeling, but was smiling instead.

"How about I get two of each of your guys!"

The King of Heaven balked, the Queen of Hell laughed. "Kami, I love this guy! Let's do it!"

Said Kami looked at Hild like she grew a second head. "What? Are you kidding? Just give him two gods and demons?"

"Yeah! Besides, he needs some stuff to start things going. He has a bit of a late start, after all. After time was created and all that."

Kami paused, thinking. "Well... I suppose..."

Ranma grinned. "Then it's settled! Give me a bit to set up my world, and we'll hold the ceremony on earth!"

Hild nodded eagerly, while Kami-sama had a distinctly worried look on his face. Things were about to get... interesting...

* * *

Ranma was alone in a big white expanse, sitting down, thinking.

Now normally Ranma is not one prone to the act of using his brain, but recent circumstances has made it rather advisable.

Like being a being on the same level as God.

Currently he was debating what to make his world like.

First up, a large dojo was in order, with wood stronger then diamond. Practice dummies, practice weapons, the works. No minions of his would go without a proper martial education!

He also wanted all sorts of different environments... better to practice in, after all. Let's see... a rainforest... a desert... islands in a vast sea... a volcano... a mountain... hmmm... yep, that'll do!

Ranma hopped up from the none existent ground and started his program.

In heaven and hell, programs generally are sung. A nice, orderly, beautiful song, singing to the base code of the universe.

To a being which draws it's powers from Chaos, something such as a song will never work. It's too orderly, too tame. Such a being needs something more flexible, something more... chaotic.

Something, in which, Anything Goes.

Ranma flowed through stances that he's never seen or thought of before, acting like the ocean and lightning and fire and earth and wind and everything else. A dance that only those of the highest caliber can even see, let alone hope to copy.

And as he danced, changing to the thrill of chaos in his soul, his world changed.

An old style dojo, made of wood stronger the diamonds and purer then the stars, rose out from the ground. Tree's older then Earth itself rose up. A mountain taller the Olympus grew from the ground. Land dissolved into water, land melted into sand, land shifted into lava.

The world was completed.

Ranma's world was completed.

An old, friendly dojo stood in the center of the land, with trees and oceans and mountains and lava and sand surrounding it in a beautiful, chaotic fashion.

Ranma smiled.

And now for the last touch... he held the seed that was Saffron, letting the ambient sunlight reflect off of it. He kissed it, imbuing it with the chaos energy that thrummed in his soul. And then he threw it. To the other side of his world. It landed in the ground with a thud.

Ranma smiled. This was a place he could live for all eternity. After one last look, he used he new energy to teleport out.

He didn't know where he'd end up, but hey, that was half the fun!

* * *

Keiichi is a normal human. Oh, sure, he has special talents, and he has things he's no good at, but he's a normal human.

What isn't normal is who he lives with. The goddess Belldandy, first class, unlimited. Her two sisters. A demon cat. And that's not even mentioning their various guests that's he's had.

Sometimes Keiichi wonders how he got so lucky, to live with a goddess who he loves, and who loves him back. It was heaven on earth. Literally.

He was idly tuning up his motorcycle when he heard the fwump of a fall from behind the shrine. With a sigh Keiichi got up, wondering what was going to happen now. Would it be Mara again? Or maybe Hild... He hoped it wasn't Hild...

As he came around the shrine that he lived in he saw a tall athletic youth, red shirt black pants. Male. He was lying in the dirt... until he hoped up and looked around. "Oh, heya! Congrats! This place is going to be the meeting place of a divine congregation of the gods, demons and me!" Ranma didn't know what the word 'congregation' meant until he achieved Understanding. Understanding everything really helps your literature.

Keiichi sweatdroped. "Uh... okay... just... give me a moment, okay?"

Ranma shrugged as Keiichi went off. No doubt to tell whoever else lived in this shrine how awesome it was going to become soon. He had no idea how all knowing Kami-sama and Hild were, but he was certain that he could at least give them a call.

He heard an explosion from the front of the shrine, and he could see a good wisp of chaos coming from there. It was almost as strong as what he was used to back home! Ah, no wonder he ended up here. Chaos loves this place almost as much as Nerima!

He took a deep breath as he looked around. This place seemed much too... what's the word... not destroyed for the amount of chaos here. Did they have their own Kasumi?

"Uh, sir?"

That would make sense. That would make it like the Tendo Dojo. Hopefully they didn't have a Nabiki... even as he was now he doubted he could outsmart her...

"Sir?"

Speaking of Nerima, he'd have to go there to wrap things up. Like his three engagements. And the Amazon's. And his parent's. Well, whatever. He had funner things to do right now!

He felt his hand go out to stop another hand from getting too close. He turned his head to see that kid that came to greet him, looking startled and his wrist grabbed by Ranma's hand. Ranma had the grace to look sheepish as he let go, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ehehe, sorry about that. I was kinda spacing out."

"No, no, it's fine." Keiichi started rubbing his wrist. That guy had a _strong _grip. "Anyway, who are you? I'm Keiichi."

"Oh, I'm Ranma. Nice to meetcha." It was then that Ranma noticed the three girls behind Keiichi. One that definitely put out a Kasumi like vibe, one that looked like a little kid, and one that... "Hey, you look just like Hild!"

The women in question, Urd, got a light tick on her face as the others looked at each other. "And just why do you say that?"

"Oh, there's your skin color, your hair color, and the fact that you're rather... not covered up."

The little one snickered. "He's got you there, sis."

"Oooh, you look like Kami!"

The little girl blushed. "R-really? I look like Him?"

"Yeah, sure! Well, you're a bit young... and female... and weak... but otherwise, you're just like him!" The little girl looked a bit more annoyed at each caveat, but he couldn't understand why. He just gave her a compliment.

Then the third one spoke up. "Excuse me? How do you know Hild and Kami-sama?"

Ranma turned to look at the third one. "Aha! You do have a Kasumi!"

The angelic girl tilted her head. "A... Kasumi?"

"Ah, sorry. Just a girl from where I'm from. Or was from. Whatever. She keeps the chaos at bay enough that the dojo stays up. Anyway, to answer your question, I'm an immortal just like you three! Well... maybe not just like... I'm about a million times stronger, but you get the point."

Keiichi is a normal person. As such, he is about a million times more times observant when it comes to female emotions then Ranma. He could tell that Urd and Skuld were just itching for a conflict with the new comer, and he had about five seconds to stop it before it became too late. So he did what any rational person would do. Hide behind Belldandy.

Belldandy is not a normal person. As such, she is about a trillion times more observant when it comes to female emotions then Ranma. She also could tell that Ranma didn't mean anything bad by the comments he told them. As such, she took no offense, and she didn't want Skuld and Urd to attack their new guest for no good reason. "Now now, Skuld, Urd, I'm sure he meant nothing bad by that."

"Nothing bad?" Skuld screeched. "He just said I'm weak! Twice!"

"And he said I looked like Hild!"

Ranma looked rather confused. "I'm sorry? Did I say anything wrong?"

"Damn right you did!" Urd yelled.

"But I gave both of you compliments!"

Skuld and Urd yelled at the same time, "Being weak is NOT a compliment!"

Ranma blinked. "But you are. Well, at least compared to me. But don't worry about it. Everybody's weak compared to me." Ranma grinned his copyrighted 'I'm better then everybody' grin.

That got Skuld and Urd a bit too upset.

"Skuld Bomb!"

"Urd Strike!"

A large explosion, caused by a bomb and a lightning strike, quickly followed.

"Take that, jerkface!" The child yelled.

"Hell yeah! That'll teach you!"

They were ecstatic at being able to beat the intruder! ...until they heard a whistle from between them. "That's a nice combo you got goin' on there."

They both slowly turned their heads to the person in between them, and sweatdropped.

"Anyway, isn't it polite to introduce yourself before tryin' to blow their head off?"

Another dual sweatdrop.

"Well, then again, Ryoga never told me his name... and Kuno just went on a rant... hmmmm... actually, you might be on the right track!"

A third dual sweatdrop.

Ranma just grinned.

Too weirded out to hold onto her aggression, the child among the four said, "I'm Skuld."

The one that looked like Hild said, "Urd."

The Kasumi-esque one said, "I'm Belldandy. It's very nice to meet you."

Ranma flipped over to just in front of the crater now adorning the backyard. "It's nice to meet ya too, Belldandy. And you, Skuld, and Urd. Nice attack, by the way. If that had happened before I Understood, it would've been a bit tough to dodge."

Belldandy, Urd, and Skuld all gasped. Ranma grinned his 'I'm better then you' ™ grin. Keiichi just looked at the four immortals, confused. "Um... what's going on here?"

Belldandy, was the one that responded. Urd and Skuld just looked a bit too nervous to do so. "Keiichi, apparently Ranma is a being on the same level as Kami-sama and Hild. To Understand is to see and manipulate the base code of the universe."

Keiichi tilted his head. "But isn't that what gods and demons can do?"

"No... not exactly. We can manipulate reality by manipulating the top code supplied by Yggdrasil. Some gods and demons spend their entire existence to Understand. Those that succeed are generally called All-Powerful." Keiichi gaped. It wasn't every day that one of the most powerful beings ever visited your home.

Well... Hild did once a week, but that didn't really count. She isn't even in her real body anyway.

"But... he could always be lying! Right, sis?" Skuld looked rather desperate, mainly because she was worried that she just pissed off one of the most powerful beings in existence.

Belldandy shook her head. "No, sister. I do not detect any dishonesty from him." Skuld and Urd gulped in worry. "So, to what do we owe this honor, Ranma-sama?"

Ranma waved his hand. "Just call me Ranma. That sama stuff is way too formal for me. And I'm here to hold a conference with all of heaven and hell!" He grinned. "I'm gonna get me some minions!"

Belldandy smiled her peaceful smile. "Sounds fascinating. Would you like to adjourn to the tea room to discuss it?"

Ranma nodded, and they walked off. One All-Powerful martial artist, one in awe human, one tranquil goddess, and two very, very nervous sisters.

* * *

Ranma took a nice long sip of tea. "Mmmm, that's nice. Almost as good as Kasumi." Belldandy smiled and nodded her thanks, sensing that it was a compliment of the highest caliber.

Skuld scoffed, momentarily forgetting her fear of upsetting Ranma. "Hey! There's no way a mortal can be better at anything then a goddess like Belldandy!"

"Well, I was a mortal, and I almost beat Saffron on my own. I probably did, too, but the whole Chaos thing got me confused. I could have easily beat you and Urd by myself if I wanted to."

This time Urd scoffed. "I doubt that."

Ranma grinned leaning forward. "Wanna test that?"

Before things got out of hand, Keiichi decided to intervene. "Um, wait. I think I missed something here."

Ranma turned to look at the only mortal in the room. "Yes?"

"Um... you were mortal?"

"Sure was. Let me tell you, it sure was shocking to find out the world is ran by a giant computer."

"And... you became immortal?"

Ranma just grinned.

"...How is that even possible? Just who are you?"

Ranma grinned cheekily. "I'm the best!"

Belldandy smiled. "Ranma, I think it would be best if I took it from here."

Ranma looked surprised. "What? The long and short of it is that I'm the best."

Urd and Skuld snorted, but Ranma and Belldandy tactically ignored them. Or rather, they both just wrote it off as not important. "That may be, but I think a more detailed explanation is in order."

Ranma shrugged. "Go on, then." He then turned back to the other two sisters. "So, about that challenge..."

Belldandy turned back to her love, who just looked confused. "Belldandy? Is it really possible for a mortal to become a god?"

"Normally, no. God's and demon's are really quite complicated, and it is in within their very core's to be able to manipulate the world program."

"But... then how do you explain Ranma?" Said martial artist was talking animatedly with Skuld and Urd. Apparently they were setting up the details of the challenge.

"Ah, see, Kami-sama, Hild, and Ranma are different. They were all mortal once-"

"What!" Keiichi looked shocked. God was mortal? Is that even possible?

"They were all mortal once." Belldandy smiled at Keiichi. He could be so adorable sometimes.

"So... how did they become... you know..." the three people in the room that were not part of the conversation got up and left. One of them was grinning his 'I'm better then you' ™ grin, and the other two were fuming.

"All-Powerful?"

Keiichi nodded.

"Well, it is possible, if nearly impossible, for a mortal to understand the base code."

"That's what Yggdrasil controls, right?"

"No, not quite. Yggdrasil is programed using the base code."

"...ah." Explosions could be heard from out back, along with combat yells.

"Now, if a mortal, or an immortal for that matter, can learn to Understand the base code of the universe, then they can do pretty much whatever they want."

"So... why doesn't Hild just, like, destroy Kami-sama and the doublet system?"

"The doublet system is in the base code, and protected by an excellent fire wall."

"...ah." More shouts and explosions could be heard from out back.

"In addition to that, Kami-sama would know and probably counter it. His Understanding is greater then hers. Besides, Hild likes the current situation. It's fun to her, like it's fun for Kami-sama."

"...so humanity is a giant soap opera?" Keiichi deadpanned.

"...well... one could look at it that way... but I prefer to think of it as an expression of life and hope."

"So... I could achieve understanding?"

Belldandy's usually unstoppable smile faltered. "It... is possible... though unlikely. Only two... well, now three, have ever achieved it, and it is incredibly unlikely that any more ever will. It shocked the gods when Hild achieved it."

Keiichi nodded, grinning. "I thought as much. I just thought I'd ask."

"Ask what?" Ranma came in followed by Skuld and Urd. All of their clothing was tattered, and they were all bruised, though Ranma himself was the best off by far.

"About whether I could achieve understanding. I was just-"

Ranma peered at Keiichi, effectively shutting him up. "Nah, you're not even close. Close to understanding Yggdrasil, maybe, but not the base code."

Keiichi blinked. "Umm... really?"

Ranma leaned back and grinned. "Yep! I'd say give it two years at this pace and you'll be able to work some minor magics of your own!"

Belldandy looked at Ranma curiously. "Ranma, is Keiichi really close to understanding Yggdrasil?"

"He sure is! His soul is practically pulsing with it's power."

Urd and Skuld moaned. Urd groaned out, "Great. Being surpassed by one mortal is bad enough, but being surpassed by Keiichi? I'll never live that down."

"Ranma," Belldandy began, "are you sure of what you are saying? If you are correct, then..."

"Hey hey, I'm the best! I know what I'm talking about!" Ranma grinned. "Anyway, I was wondering if you had a ph..." Ranma started. "C... C... C... C...C... CAAAAAAAAAAAT!" Ranma screeched as flew the coop, running through several walls to get away from the black cat that walked by.

Welsper looked at the newly made man-shaped hole with interest. "Who was that?"

Keiichi looked at the hole, then at the demon cat. The hole, the cat. The hole, the cat. "Jeeze, he's worse then Chrono!"

* * *

Ranma was back in the tea room, slowly sipping tea. The visible shaking that he was doing was betraying his nervousness, however.

"S-sorry... Just those... evil... malicious... horrible things creep me out."

"You mean you're scared of them." Urd said, a smirk on her face.

"N-no! They're just evil, horrible, beyond all redemption, from the beyond, monsters in animal flesh and so on!"

Skuld giggled. "To think one of the most powerful beings in existence would have such a weakness..."

"Oy!" Ranma loose, annoyed. "I'm still the best!"

Urd waved her hand in a carefree fashion. "Sure you are."

Ranma hulked down and fumed, staring into his cup angrily. Everybody else laughed, except for Belldandy, who was answering the phone.

Belldandy entered the room. "Ranma? Kami-sama's on the phone for you."

Ranma nodded and got up, leaving for the phone. "Thanks, Belldandy."

Belldandy calmly sat down and started drinking some tea as everybody else strained their ears to hear at least one end of the conversation.

"Hiya!"

[Hello, Ranma. How are you?]

"Great. You?'

[I have been doing fine.]

"Good to hear it."

[Now, I think the best place to hold your ceremony...]

"Oh, yes, about that..."

[Would be in 5D space, not earth. It's neutral.]

"What? No way! I've got the perfect place!"

[Really? Where?]

"Here!"

[...There there?]

"Yes, here!"

[...Where you are right now?]

"Yes, the shrine where I am right now, where the three Norns are resided."

[Why there?]

"Why? Because it'll be amusing!"

[...You're just like Hild.]

"I'll take that as a compliment."

[...*sigh* Very well. Do you have a way to select your first... er... 'minion's'?]

"Yep! It's perfect!"

[What is it?]

"I draw characters from a bag!"

[...Really.]

"Come now, it's foolproof!"

[And if you don't get a name? Or you get three from Heaven or Hell?]

"If so, I'll just draw more."

[...great. Hild and I should be there tomorrow.]

"K'! Thanks for calling!"

Ranma hung up the phone and tuned back with a huge grin on his face. "Heya, guys! All of Heaven and Hell should be here tomorrow!"

Keiichi paled. "...this will not end well."

* * *

Kami-sama, Hild, and Ranma all stood on a large stage. In front of them stood every single god and demon in existence, stretching out before them in the magically enlarged back yard. Hild and Kami-sama had just finished explaining the situation and what was about to occur, when...

*SNORE!*

Hild whipped her head around the source of the offending noise, one Ranma Saotome, who was sleeping while standing up.

Every single God and Demon sweatdroped, hoping that they would not be chosen.

Hild snapped her fingers in front of Ranma's face, who started. "Who what where?"

Hild let loose a slight giggle. "Oh, silly Ranma. It's time to choose your minions!"

"Oh, right!" Ranma grinned confidently as he walked to the front of the stage. "Hello everybody!" he shouted. "I am here to choose my minions! And you better hope that you get chosen, because I'm the best!" He grinned cheekily and held out a bag. "I am now going to choose who gets to become my minion in a totally random way!"

Ranma idly put some Chaos into his hands as he dug through the bag. He knew that that was the way to get the most fun out of it.

"S!"

"K!"

"U!"

"L!"

"D!"

Urd burst out laughing as Skuld screeched, "WHAT!" _She_ was chosen to be under _his_ rule? No way. Uh-uh. Not gonna happen. "No way am I going to-" She was teleported on stage, "-obey you!" She blinked, looking around. "...Huh. Anyway, no way am I going to obey you! In your dreams!" Ranma just turned and grinned at her.

"Kami-sama, could you please explain this to Skuld?" Ranma asked.

Kami-sama nodded as he leaned down next to Skuld. "Skuld. I know this is hard to accept."

"Hard to accept? I barely know the guy!"

"Skuld, listen!" That shut her up. "I know this is hard to accept, but trust me when I say that he will do nothing bad to you."

She eyed him warily. "How do you know?"

"I've seen his file. His now heavily classified file, but Hild and I can see it. He is honorable to a fault, and will not abuse his power in any way. He will have your best interests in heart. He will run you ragged, but he will not run you to the grave."

Skuld looked worried. "How can you be sure?"

Kami-sama just grinned. "I'm Kami-sama."

Skuld let loose a light giggle. "Oh, all right. But if he does anything funny I'm gonna leave him faster then light!"

Kami-sama wisely didn't respond by saying that she could run faster then light and Ranma would still catch up.

Ranma nodded to the audience. "So we have Skuld! Who's the next lucky contestant?"

"M!"

"A!"

"R!"

"A!"

Urd's laughing was send up a notch while Mara shouted in surprise and was teleported into the chair next to Skuld. "What? No way. I'm a demon! Not a... whatever you plan on making us!" She was prepared to go on ranting, but a look from Hild shut her up nicely.

Ranma nodded to Hild. "Thank you, Hild."

"My pleasure."

Ranma grinned back. "So we have a demon and goddess! Let's see what happens now!"

"U!"

"R!"

"D!"

Urd, who was laughing at Mara and her little sister, soon found them in the same boat. She looked to the right at Mara and, behind her, Skuld. She looked at Kami-sama, Hild, and Ranma. "I don't get a choice in this, do I?" The three All-Powerful's shook their heads. Urd pouted and slouched back into her seat as Skuld and Mara quietly giggled at her position.

Ranma once again turned back to the audience. "Just one demon left! Who will become my next not-so-loyal minion?" ...The crowd sweatdropped at his rather accurate assessment of where his three 'minions' loyalties layed.

"W!"

"E!"

"L!"

"S!"

"P!"

"E!"

"R!"

Urd and Skuld paled, remembering what happened the last time the cat was seen by Ranma. "Wait, don't-!" Skuld shouted as the cat appeared.

Ranma stared at it. "C-C-C-C-C-CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTT!" He ran screaming into the hordes of gods and demons, bowling them over.

"...Do that..." Urd lamely finished for her sister.

Welsper the cat looked over at Mara. "_That_ is our new master?"

"Seems like."

"...And he's terrified of me?"

"Yep."

"...I miss being bullied by Hild already."

"You and me both."

Hild looked over at the two, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. "Awww, I didn't know you cared!"

All four new members of Ranma's branch of immortals sweatdroped. Their lives just took a turn to the chaotic.

* * *

Ranma was sitting back in the tearoom, having recovered from his cat-induced insanity. Around the table was Skuld, Mara, Urd and a (thanks to Kami-sama) non cat, elegant looking adult Welsper.

"Okay, so... now what?"

The sweatdropped. Urd was the one that said what was on all of their minds. "...you mean you don't know?"

"Hey! I was a mortal, like, three days ago! Give me some slack." He sipped the tea as he pursed his lips. "Actually, there is one thing. All of your powers are limited, so we'll have to remove that."

Mara was the one that spoke this time. "Bad idea. Let the squirt," she gestured at Skuld, who fumed, "have all of her powers and she'll go crazy."

Ranma frowned. "Bah, that's no good. Limiting your power is just stupid, especially since all of you are going to get some remedial training later."

Ranma sighed as he leaned back, bluntly ignoring the glares of his four minions. "Ah, well. I guess we can save that for later. But for now, let's get going!" He hoped up.

"Going... where?" Welsper asked.

"We're going to Nerima!"

**A/N: More details regarding Ranma.**

**Okay, I promises, so I'll give. This Ranma is still blunt, crude, crass, egotistical and generally 'Ranma'. That said, there is one key diffrence.**

**In the Manga, Ranma was the best, but he was generally reactive. He reacted to things that happened, lived with it instead of changed it. This Ranma isn't, and he's tired of it. He's his own man, and he isn't going to just let things happen around him. He's going to activly cause and change things, all with a cocky grin and a smile in his eyes. It's going to be... chaotic. ^^**


End file.
